10.21.21 – Flight Attendant 10-Hour Minimum Rest Regulation Unblocked

Thursday, October 21, 2021

Flight Attendant 10-Hour Minimum Rest Regulation Unblocked

In October 2018, a bipartisan and nearly unanimous Congress passed a law to increase our Federal Aviation Regulation (FAR) minimum rest from 8 to 10 non-reducible hours. However, in 2018, the Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary determined that the regulation must go through an arduous rulemaking process, delaying the implementation. APFA submitted official comments for the rulemaking in 2019, and since then, the process has stagnated. This is why we are here, three years later, flying without 10-hour minimum rest.

Today, we are pleased to share that forward progress is finally being made. Because of the leadership of DOT Secretary Buttigieg, the rulemaking process will proceed forward. A 60-day public comment period is required before the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) implements the final rule. Please keep a lookout for more information as we get closer.

Does this new rule benefit Flight Attendants at American? Yes.

The FAR 10-hour minimum rest is calculated from release to report. Certain JCBA pay protections apply when scheduling disruptions result in less than 8-hour FAR minimum rest, so with this change, pay protections that require you to drop to FAR minimums will be triggered at 10 hours instead of 8 hours. Additionally, a 10-hour FAR will require that trips be built with more than 10-hour rest periods to protect sequence continuity in the event of a delay. Currently, with an 8-hour FAR, our minimum scheduled rest is 9.5 hours.

Working together with our Labor partners is exactly why progress is being made today – thank you to the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA-CWA), Transport Workers Union (TWU), International Association of Machinists (IAM), and International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT). Our sincerest appreciation to DOT Secretary Buttigieg, FAA Administrator Dickson, President Biden, and our many allies in Congress.

A big thank you to House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman DeFazio, who has kept the DOT accountable both publicly and behind the scenes. (Just this morning at an Aviation Subcommittee hearing, yet again, Chairman DeFazio questioned why it had taken so long to implement the 10-hour rest.)

Laws and regulations that help Flight Attendants do not happen on accident. We have to re-elect leaders like Chairman DeFazio. Please consider contributing to the APFA Political Action Committee (PAC) today. For more information, including a video explaining the APFA PAC and its importance, click here.

Support the APFA PAC

In Solidarity,

Allie Malis
APFA Government Affairs Representative

Lori Glattly
APFA Government Affairs Representative

[email protected]